Columns

I have been a Dallas Cowboys fan since 1963. My Cowboys Cave has all manner of Cowboys memorabilia on its silver and blue walls. Outside is my Cowboys flag. On my vehicle, a Cowboys trailer-hitch and headrests. At Christmas, my tree is silver and blue.

Donald Trump has been called a xenophobe, a racist and a bigot, but do the titles really fit?
A xenophobe is one who is fearful of what is foreign especially people of foreign origin. Trump does business all over the world, so I doubt he fears foreign places or people.
What he is concerned about is Isis terrorists infiltrating as refugees into our country from Syria as they have done in Europe. He has called for a halt to Syrian immigration until these people can be vetted properly.

Obamacare has completely met our expectations – that it will fail.
Americans were promised they could keep their doctor, and that turned out to be false. Prices were supposed to decrease, and they didn’t. Our middle class is feeling the burden of rising premiums, out-of-control deductibles, and lack of insurance options and choices.
Obamacare is predicted to cost the American taxpayers more than $1 trillion over the next several years.

Believers in Christ should consider the life of Daniel. Taken captive to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar, he and his three friends were chosen to learn the Babylonian culture and language so they could serve at the royal court.

But when Nebuchadnezzar ordered they be given the royal food and drink, Daniel asked they might be granted an exemption. He knew that the king’s food had been offered first to idols, and that some of it violated their strict Mosaic food laws.

Editor’s note: Gov. Nikki Haley delivered her seventh – and probably final – State of the State Address on Wednesday. Donald Trump has nominated her as his U.N. ambassador, and she awaits Senate confirmation. Here are excerpts.

The last few weeks have been a time of great reflection for me. When I walked into the State House this morning, it struck me that I have been doing so for 12 years.
What a road we have traveled together.

In order to assess recent statements and representations by Voters for a Town of Indian Land, several of us residents have asked TOIL leaders for a detailed, line-by-line budget for a town of Indian Land.
This basic information has been requested repeatedly, but never has been forthcoming. It has been requested via multiple sources: e.g., in face-to-face meetings, e-mail, through the Indian Land Action Council and through social media. I have the e-mail chain to verify these requests.

There has been extensive discussion of the so-called “Charleston loophole” by which Dylann Roof was allegedly permitted to purchase the handgun used in the nine murders at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Zion Church on June 17, 2015.
At a Chicago rally last Feb. 17, Hillary Clinton said the following: “All we want is common sense. We want comprehensive background checks that close the gun-show loophole and online loophole. We want to close what is called the Charleston loophole.

Oregon’s Vote By Mail system offers a model that for South Carolina would save millions of dollars to buy new voting machines, avoid long lines for voting, and ensure the security of election results.
It is used for all elections: federal, state and local, whether primary, general or special, and has been in operation for roughly 25 years. One result is increased voter participation by working parents and senior citizens. The system makes voter fraud virtually impossible, and research has shown that the system favors neither party.

Mandy Powers Norrell was reelected to the S.C. House in November. I think she and her husband, Mitch, are the best lawyers in Lancaster.
And she’s a Democrat! I’m a Republican – yay Trump!
We need to unite, America. But for that to happen, the Democratic Party needs new blood. People like Mandy can bring smarts to the party.